


A Place to Call Home

by KrastBannert



Series: We Will Become Silhouettes [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Bending (Avatar), F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Light Angst, Making Up, Moving, Not Beta Read, Old Friends, Pre-Relationship, Running Away, Sort Of, but also not light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrastBannert/pseuds/KrastBannert
Summary: [But she doesn't have to worry about that. Not right now.Right now, she can just…sit here, surrounded by beautifully soft, silky fleece, and watch the sunrise through lidded eyes. And it feels…strange. She can still scarcely believe it. She's here. She's in Ba Sing Se. The Center of the World, the City of Stars. The biggest, most famous city in the world. A city of walls and secrets and wars and histories and stories, a place where she could just start over.And she's...she's here. Really, really here. Zuko had woken her up just before they landed yesterday, and she'd watched, awestruck, as their plane flew high over the ancient stone walls that ringed the city, but somehow, it hadn't hit her then. It hadn't hit her that everything she worked towards for months…it had finally paid off. It hadn't truly hit her, until now.She's free.]------In the City of Stars, a girl gets a chance to start over, in friendship, in love, and in life.Or, Mai finally wakes up in Ba Sing Se - and the reality of what she's done starts to set in.
Relationships: Mai & Ty Lee (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), minor Mai/Zuko - Relationship
Series: We Will Become Silhouettes [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053002
Comments: 7
Kudos: 15





	A Place to Call Home

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read _A Place in Between_ , I'd recommend reading that first. It's not essential to understand this story, but it's sort of the foundation of this Modern AU series. For those who have read it, there's less of the 'urban sadness' vibe in this one. Hopefully it's still enjoyable!

The first morning she wakes in Ba Sing Se is…different. It’s the same, but so, so different. Not like that train station – no, there’s nothing familiar about this morning.

She doesn't need an alarm; she never has. After so many years, the only alarm she needs is her body, telling her to get up and start her day. She moves automatically, not making a sound as she strips off her hoodie, and she's opening the closet door and reaching for a hanger and a new shirt when reality slams back into her. She realizes, she _doesn't_ need to be doing this. She doesn't _need_ to start her day. Not yet. Not here. 

Here, there's no mother trying to corral her. No classes - not yet, anyways - to get ready for. No pressing engagements, no societal functions. She can…she can do anything. Whatever she wants.

She looks at the hoodie in her hands, glances at the fleece on her bed, and thinks for a moment. She thinks about getting back into bed, curling up under the covers and closing her eyes and drifting for a few more hours. It would be wonderful, but it would be pointless. She's never once been able to go back to sleep.

So she tugs her hoodie back on and plucks the blanket off the bed, wraps it snugly around her shoulders, and sits in the chair by the window. She gazes out, at the sky that's tinted just a hint of orange. She can't help but glance at the small succulent in the windowsill. It had been there waiting for her - Ty Lee's idea, she'd known instantly.

When Mai asked, she’d said simply that it would brighten the room. And then the other girl had dived into some explanation about auras and energies, and Mai had tuned it out. She wasn't about to argue, though, not when Ty Lee was putting her up, letting her stay here in a room all her own, without asking _anything_. It was like there were no strings, none at all. Logically, there had to be _something_ \- nothing in life was just _free._ But it was unlike Ty Lee to do things like that. She was just too kind.

And anyways - she doesn't have to worry about that. Not right now.

Right now, she can just…sit here, surrounded by beautifully soft, silky fleece, and watch the sunrise through lidded eyes. And it feels…strange. She can still scarcely believe it. She's _here_. She's in _Ba Sing Se_. The Center of the World, the City of Stars. The biggest, most famous city in the world. A city of walls and secrets and wars and histories and stories, a place where she could just start over.

And she's...she's here. Really, _really_ here. Zuko had woken her up just before they landed yesterday, and she'd watched, awestruck, as their plane flew high over the ancient stone walls that ringed the city, but somehow, it hadn't hit her then. It hadn't hit her that everything she worked towards for months…it had finally paid off. It hadn't truly hit her, until now.

She's free.

She watches, lost in silent thought, as the sky shifts from deep blue to light pink to burning orange, until finally the sun itself peeks over the horizon, its warm light glittering off snow-covered trees and dangling icicles. Mai lets out a deep breath she didn't even know she'd been holding, and slumps back in the chair. She can just make out the smell of pancakes, and her stomach grumbles quietly.

When she pads out of the bedroom, Ty Lee is in the kitchen, dancing around in front of a sizzling griddle, humming quietly to herself. Ty Lee, _cooking -_ now there's a thought Mai had never once thought she'd see.

She wonders how much else has changed in the past four years. She can't help herself - for a brief moment, she thinks of Zuko, of the look on his face, of the scar that covered his cheek.

She takes a seat at the small table, waits as Ty Lee cooks. The girl song she’s humming – some indie song, she thinks – is melodic and warm and the sound is oddly soothing. There's something about her that Mai can't put her finger on, something that's just so _different_ from how she'd been when they were in high school. She's more confident, more at ease, more...herself.

Ty Lee spins around, and Mai gets a smile as bright as the morning sun.

"Good morning!" Ty Lee chirps." I hope you like pancakes! I forgot to ask if you still do, but you always loved them when we were kids, so I figured…"

Ty Lee shrugs. Mai doesn't betray any emotion - her mother's teachings, as much as she's found herself rebelling against them the past month, the _past days_ , are still ingrained bone deep - but she something in her chest unfurls and warms. That Ty Lee remembers such little things, is still willing to do things for her…she doesn't understand it, not after the things she’d said, but it's _wonderful_.

There's a long moment of silence before Mai finally nods.” I still do.” She runs her fingers over the table, watches Ty Lee flip two of the pancakes onto a pair of plates already stacked. She shuts off the griddle and sets a plate in front of her, along with a bottle of syrup and a tray of butter. Ty Lee flashes her another smile as she sits in the chair right next to her, flicking her braid over her shoulder.

Mai waits for Ty Lee to start eating before she even glances at her own plate. Another of her mother's lessons: the host always takes the first bite. When she finally bites into her pancake, it's like…like she’s tasting gold. They're light and fluffy and almost…sugary, with a hint of vanilla, and it’s mind-bogglingly good. How had Ty Lee learned how to do this?

"Thank you," Mai says after a moment." This is delicious."

"Aw, thank you, Mai!" Ty Lee blushes." Really, though, I'm just glad you're here. It's so good to see you again!"

Mai doesn't know how to respond to that, so she doesn't bother, and they fall into silence. For a while, the only noise is the clinking of fork against plates and Ty Lee's humming.

"Lee?" Mai asks eventually. It's one of the things she does remember about her - Ty Lee _hated_ being called 'Ty'. Too much like her sisters, she'd always said." Can I ask you something?"

The other girl frowns, tilts her head." Of course. Is…is something wrong?"

"No, no, it's just…why are you doing this?" Mai asks, her voice growing quieter with each word. She knows she doesn’t _have_ to ask the question, but she just…doesn’t understand it. She can still remember their last conversation. She'd been sixteen, Ty Lee fifteen - just _kids_ , really, but that hadn't changed anything. It didn't change the things she'd said, the way she'd talked about…about Ty Lee and her beliefs, her personality, about her as a person.

Mai can remember calling her a circus freak, airheaded, an idiot, and a dozen other things besides. They'd never spoken again after that argument, and she'd spent three and a half years wishing she'd said anything else. The fact that Ty Lee was opening her home, after all those insults, after all the fights that had led up to it, after those years without talking…it doesn't make sense.

Ty Lee sighs as she sets her fork down." I'll be honest…I thought about _not_ doing it. But the thing is…we were _kids_ , Mai. And yeah, maybe we still kind of are, but either way…people change, you know?"

Mai counters after a moment," You still didn't deserve it. Any of it."

"Maybe not," she shrugs," but you were hurting, too. And I didn't see that until after I left."

The old Ty Lee, the one that followed Azula and Mai around on whatever adventures they could drag her into, would never have said something like that. _People change,_ she'd said. Perhaps that was true. Mai looks down at her empty plate, folds her hands in her lap. Ty Lee's words are only a small comfort, but they…they help.

"I'll try to find a more permanent place soon," Mai offers." I won't take up much space in your apart-"

"Our," Ty Lee interrupts. When Mai looks up, Ty Lee is staring at her intently, eyes blazing." You said it was my apartment, but it's not - it's _our_ apartment. You don't have to leave, Mai. Not unless you want to." Ty Lee fingers her braid for a moment before she adds," And I'd…I'd _really_ like it if you stayed."

Mai blinks once, twice, three times. She…she _wants_ her to stay? She finds herself nodding before she can stop herself, and it's like a weight has been taken off her shoulders. Something warm blooms in her chest.

"And besides," Ty Lee continues," A certain someone lives really close."

Mai feels her cheeks flush." I have no idea who you're talking about." That's a lie - she knows _exactly_ who Ty Lee is talking about - but she'll never admit it. Not that she needs to, because Ty Lee just _knows,_ and Mai absolutely hates it.

"I'm sorry! It's just so perfectly romantic, don't you think?"

"No, really. I don't," she deadpans. And really, she doesn't, because as much as she had loved seeing him again, as much as she'd enjoyed sleeping on his shoulder for two nights and spending almost two days in his company after not seeing him for so long…all that time between twelve and twenty still existed.

After eight years apart, eight years of growing without the other and with her thinking he'd forgotten her or…or worse, simply meeting again wouldn't do it. And it's not like she'd _actually_ liked him that way as a kid, anyways. That would be ridiculous.

Besides - after that first night in the train station, that night where the worlds had coalesced and everything, for once, felt right, they'd barely been able to look at each other. Mai doesn't understand it.

It's not that she isn't glad to have seen him again - because she _is_ \- but she just…doesn't understand why he'd disappeared. With hardly a word. For a long time, she'd thought it had been her, been something she said or did. She’d outgrown those thoughts, for the most part, and realized it had something to do with what he’d told her about the last time they’d seen each other.

She'd dared to ask Azula once, and the other girl had clammed up tight and asked – she had _asked_ , not ordered - if Mai could avoid bringing that up again. So, no - to her mind, it's not really that romantic.

"But...it is nice to see him again," she finally admits under Ty Lee's stare. The girl's face goes surprisingly soft. Like she understands, somehow.

"I get it," Ty Lee murmurs, reaching out to loop her fingers in Mai's. The grip is unfamiliar, and it makes her skin crawl...and yet it’s comforting, too. Her throat goes dry and she doesn’t know what to say; when she sends a pleading in Ty Lee’s direction, the other girl just smiles and squeezes her hand.

They're silent for a long time, staring at their empty plates and watching the sunlight filter through the windows, their fingers locked together. It's nice. Comfortable. The newness of it all, it almost hurts. And yet it’s also just like old times. Like when they were kids.

She likes it. She thinks.

"Well," Ty Lee says after a while," I guess we should get moving. After all, we've gotta take you shopping!"

Mai sends a glare her friend's direction. _Shopping_. She’s not a fan of the idea. But she understands why. She has nothing here. And…she has a good feeling. She can’t place it, but she does it.

“Fine,” she deadpans after a moment. She thinks of Ty Lee’s tiny little pink EV Smart Car in the parking lot and winces internally. The thing was so _small_ ; perfectly sized for Ty Lee, but her? She’d been…a little cramped. But it was what they had.” We can go shopping.”

At that moment, her phone buzzes in her pocket. When she pulls it out, flicks it on, there’s a text – from _Zuko_.

_Z: Good morning Mai! Sorry if this is a bit weird, but I hope you got settled in alright_

Mai smiles down at her. He’s right – it is a little weird, and suddenly her nerves are all jangly, but it’s sweet, too, that he’s checking on her.

_M: I did, thank you. It is a little weird, but then again, you always were a little strange._

_Z: Ha-ha. You’re so funny_

She suppresses a chuckle, rolls her eyes. She can feel the sarcasm oozing through the screen.

_M: Ty Lee is dragging me out to go shopping today, so I’ll probably be busy._

_Z: Sounds fun. I’ll be at work dealing with angry customers all day_

_M: Good luck_

_Z: I might be able to swing you guys some free tea_

_Z: If you want_

_M: We’ll see._

She shuts her phone off and slips it into her pocket. Free tea…it doesn’t sound too bad, all things considered.

“Zuko says he might be able to get us free tea,” she announces, looking up. Ty Lee squeals excitedly.

“Oh, at the Jasmine Dragon? His uncle’s tea is the _best_! We have to take him up on that! Oh, Suki said she would be back in an hour, so we can all go together!”

Mai shrugs. She’d met Suki yesterday – albeit only briefly – and she seemed…alright. The other girl had been a little skeptical of her, something Mai couldn’t entirely blame her for. But they’d be living together for the foreseeable future, so they’d have to get to know each other at some point.” Alright.”

“So, we’ll go shopping, swing by the Jasmine Dragon, and come back home!” Ty Lee declares.

It takes her a moment before she realizes what Ty Lee had just said. _Home_. She’d called…she’d called the apartment _home_ , and she’d said _we_. Not just 'her', but _we_ – she wasn’t sure if Ty Lee had even noticed it. Home had once meant stifling rules and expectations and backroom deals and manipulation. But now, she has a chance to redefine that. To make the word mean something new.

It’s terrifying…and exhilarating.

“Home,” she echoes quietly.” That sounds like a plan.”

_Home_ , she thinks again. It feels odd, and a little unsettling, to think of this place she’s only been at for a day as something more than temporary. That was all she’d had in mind, originally, but now…maybe it doesn’t have to be so temporary. Maybe she could get used to the idea of this place being something more. Ty Lee darts away, still humming to herself, chattering about all the stores in the area and…yeah.

Yeah, she could definitely get used to that idea.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna be honest: I genuinely don't know what happened while writing this. One day I was stuck on how to get it started, and then...here I am. I may have gotten a bit scatterbrained while writing this, so it might be a tad bit all over the place. But I really wanted to write some fluff after 2 super angsty chapters of Ashmaker and a fairly-angsty oneshot, so I had to indulge myself a bit. I really didn't plan on making this when I wrote _A Place in Between_ , but I've never been good at sticking to plans, so here we are. Now I'm making a series out of it, one that is hopefully slightly more coherent than my other ATLA series.
> 
> The nicknames for Ba Sing Se are inspired by those of Beijing, China ('The Celestial City' and 'The Center of the World'
> 
> I feel like Mai and Ty Lee's voices were a little off; Mai I've normally got a good grasp on, but Ty Lee? Nah. No idea what I'm doing. And the texting part. Let me know how I did, please! Any comments are appreciated; they're a big part of how I learn as a writer, so feel free to leave whatever feedback you want, good or bad!
> 
> If you want to see fandom nonsense, the occasional writing update, and other random bullshit, my Tumblr is [@krastbannert](https://krastbannert.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Be kind out there, my dudes.


End file.
